This map was originally released back in 2003 but Robert Yang AKA Radiator recently converted it into a Steam compatible mod, which he discusses on his blog.

I have posted lots of screenshots which probably goes against what Mr. Lantz wants, based on his wonderful screenshot section of the Prisoner homepage (linked to above), but regular reders will know, I always post lots of screenshots.

10 Comments

I wish I had a Super Artsy Mod tag as this would definitely be in there. This must have freaked the poop out of HL players back in 2003.

It’s just so deep and abstract, although I have to admit to not being able to intellectually appreciate it.

You perhaps need to stay in each room longer than I did and contemplate what it means, otherwise you may just run around looking for something that isn’t there.

I highly recommend visiting the homepage for this mod and check out some of the links. Some are dead but others are not. For serious students of game design this may provide food for thought, for “run and gun” plebs like me, will just miss the point.

Don’t go writing reviews about “this stupid mod with a series of pointless rooms!”. It’s an Alt mod, if you don’t appreciate them, don’t play it.

Yeah sorry Phillip, but imo there is just nothing to appreciate, there is no sense nor art to me.
Or do people call boxy rooms “filled” with a few (less is more?) objects call art? I don’t think so.. of course there are some non-gameplay mods which are nothing for the usual HL player, so called art mods, and / or design projects and / or Machinima but this here? Surely not, I’m afraid and also sure.
If somebody knows the clues about this, let me know and correct me but to me it’s a waste of (fortunately) short time
Imo there are better ways to express such sort of art instead it’s made here, for example drawings of course..
Yes, “virtual space” and / or first-person views can be shown perfectly with a shooter engine, but who needs/wants this as art?
Maybe the art in here is meant to be the arrangement of windows to a monolith for example, if you view it from a specific angle, however that’s not art in my eyes..

The screenshots put me off, they are not a spoiler, they appear to be more of a warning of boredom yet to come! On top of that Robert Yang seems to like it, which if you like HL1/2 and EP’s with combat, forget it.

I can understand any media being used to create something that can (in the minds of those that create it) be called art. But ” Alt” (art) mods are for the more pretentious, or those can’t get to grips with FPS single player (combat) GAMES (which is what I prefer).

As I am under no circumstances going to download or play this I can’t rate this, but based on it’s premise I have to say AVOID IT.

I actually really liked the mod. They guys head stuck in the box that is actually the previous room you are in was cool. Every time you think you teleport you really grow a couple of sizes, and then it turns out there are a lot of you stuck in this prison. If you really want to understand it read the link to Robert’s blog in the main post.

Yeah, that’s why I think it’s actually one of the more straightforward art mods I’ve played — [spoiler]it’s called “Prisoner” and every room is about escaping. You see a bunch of corpses on the way too. The ending tells you to press ESC instead of E to escape — it’s the idea that video games are traps, they enslave us, that when you think you’re “escaping” in a video game you’re just leaving one cave for another because a designer designed it all. To truly escape, you would have to be somewhere outside of the game.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I noticed that too, that it says “press ESC” instead of “press E” to escape, but even this is no sign of art to me, okay, after reading the other comments here I did understand it a bit better, the intentions of the author, but nonetheless I just can’t like it, not even a bit, sorry![/spoiler]

Well it’s interesting to see a HL1 “Art” mod, i’ve never seen any suited for HL1, but seriously if art in HL1 mods is like this, what a crap!!, definietely sucks, I don’t know play this if u conssider a hard play all hl fan.

I do usually like mods/games that have something to say. I have a major problem with the recent demand for nonlinearity or multiple endings in games, and don’t even get me started on the Mass Effect 3 situation that I’ve only listened to from afar. I mean, have the goddamn balls to tell a story. Don’t water down your narrative to accommodate every possible path you think a player may want to walk down.

And Prisoner has something to say. I uniformly hate the “pretentious” label so often used for something like this. I think it’s inaccurate, misguided, and ultimately dismissive. Personally I had never heard of this before and from Robert’s post it sounds like almost no one had, so it’s difficult at best to label it pretentious. It is as it stands, load it up and have a go to see it.

That said, presentation counts too – and that’s where Prisoner suffers the most. It’s too simplistic I think to even convey its point(s) and thus it mostly misses the mark. If you’re looking for an “art” mod you can give this a shot as it’s decent. It only takes a few minutes but it’s actually better if you don’t rush through and just give a moment’s thought to what you’re looking at. Perhaps go in with an open mind.